Background: This page includes parts of a 1940 special edition
of the Illustrierter Beobachter, the Nazi Party’s weekly illustrated
magazine, published just after France’s defeat. It blames France for the
war. The cover folds out to reveal a large map of France on the reverse.

France’s Guilt

This is the cover. The 48-page issue traces France’s
history, finding that it was always hostile to Germany.

This is the interior cover. It shows the cover of a
French magazine. The French president Reynaud is looking at a map
of Germany, showing it greatly reduced in size. According to the caption:
“The map shows Reynaud’s postwar vision of Europe, which involves
the rape of Germany, Italy, Russia, and Poland.”

p. 46: The picture is captioned: “Black French
soldiers learn how to fire on Whites with cannons. French officers
train colonial soldiers in the use of field artillery. They will not
be able to use their knowledge in Europe, since Germany will see to
it that such a cultural disgrace does not happen again.”

p. 47: The picture is captioned: “The front-line
fighters for French culture.” Below the picture: “They were
unable to save France from defeat. Besides their normal weapons, French
colonial soldiers were armed with machetes to allow them to practice
their bestial instincts on the wounded.”

p. 48: “Stolen!”: The page claims that France
stole some of Germany’s best art.